1. Field
The described aspects relate to wireless communication, and more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatus of integrated wireless device location determination.
2. Background
Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, portable computers and the like, have rapidly gained in popularity over the past decade. These devices are increasingly becoming multifaceted devices capable of providing a wide-range of functions. For example, today's cellular telephone may also embody computing capabilities, Internet access, electronic mail, text messaging, Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping, digital photographic capability, an audio/MP3 player, video gaming capabilities, video broadcast reception capabilities and the like.
Amongst the myriad of functions listed, mobile communication devices may be equipped with location determination devices and routines, such as GPS sensors, routines or the like, that allows the devices to determine the devices' respective geographic locations/positions at any point in time. Location information is used in navigation systems, which track geographic position with respect to a mapped destination, and may be incorporated in wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones or the like.
However, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as GPS or the like, may have limitations in terms of their ability to obtain a location, commonly referred to as a “fix.” For instance, a location-determining device may need to receive satellite signals from the associated satellites. The GPS location determination can be impeded, or at times impossible, if the wireless device is indoors, or surrounded by tall buildings, such as a dense urban environment or the like.
Other methods of wireless location determination may have been developed to augment GPS location determination, provide location determination in instances in which GPS location determination is unavailable, or provide location determination in the wireless devices not equipped with GPS capability. Such methods may rely on determining or estimating the position of other wireless network edge devices in communication with the wireless device, such as cellular network base stations, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points, such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) access points, and the like. Such methods implement positioning techniques to determine a location for the wireless device based on the finite or estimated location of the wireless network edge devices. With the increasing prevalence of WLAN access points, referred to as Wi-Fi hot spots or WiMAX hot spots, the ability to determine a location based on the estimated location of Wi-Fi access points has increased.
Nonetheless, the applications that augment GPS location determination with other wireless network solutions are limited to software-only solutions. For example, software-only positioning systems may exist that leverage a nationwide database of known Wi-Fi access points to calculate the precise location of any Wi-Fi enabled device. Similarly, peer-to-peer software-only wireless positioning systems may exist that triangulate signals transmitted from Wi-Fi access points and Cellular towers to help the users find their way in most major metropolitan areas worldwide. These software-only solutions tend to be inefficient in terms of providing location determination because position determinations occur sequentially significantly increasing the processing times. Additionally, such software-only solutions do not necessarily provide the most accurate location determination.
Therefore, a need exists to develop methods, systems, and apparatus for integrating satellite-based location determination, such as GPS, with other non-satellite wireless network location determination methods, such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) methods. The desired methods, systems, and apparatus should provide greater efficiency than current software-only based systems and provide for a greater level of reliability and accuracy.